The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) late Tuesday suspended its two-day strike after securing a landmark agreement with the Dangote Group to unionise refinery and petrochemical workers.
The breakthrough came after back-to-back meetings involving the Ministry of Labour, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), and senior Dangote executives led by Sayyu Dantata.
“Strikes are part of industrial relations, but no employer has the right to enslave workers. Everybody wants Dangote to succeed, but he must play by the rules.”
An MoU signed in Abuja confirmed that the refinery will immediately begin unionisation of employees, with a two-week completion window between September 9 and 22. NUPENG vowed no worker would face victimisation, while Dangote abandoned plans to establish a separate internal association.
The suspension followed nationwide fuel supply disruptions that shut filling stations from Lagos to Kaduna, hiked fares in Enugu and Anambra, and triggered black market sales at ₦1,500 per litre in parts of Calabar.
NUPENG President Williams Akporeha declared: “Strikes are part of industrial relations, but no employer has the right to enslave workers. Everybody wants Dangote to succeed, but he must play by the rules.”
Fuel loading is expected to resume on Wednesday, ending panic buying and crippling shortages across multiple states.
This is IDNN. Independent. Digital. Uncompromising.
